


heart made of glass, my mind of stone

by ConvenientAlias



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/F, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Power Imbalance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 05:59:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17637161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConvenientAlias/pseuds/ConvenientAlias
Summary: Medusa is Athena's alone.





	heart made of glass, my mind of stone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AceQueenKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/gifts).



There were more statues around the mouth of Medusa’s cave than there had been the last time Athena visited.

The first couple times she came to visit, the statues had been of varying kinds. Some had been old admirers of Medusa who did not believe the tales and come wooing her in her exile. Some had been shepherds and travelers who had not heard the tales and came near her by accident. Now, though, the statues were all of a kind, warriors who came seeking to kill her or adventurers seeking a marvel, sure they could win out against the odds. Now the story had spread far and wide; everyone had heard it.

Athena would have preferred if the story scared everyone off entirely, and no one came to visit Medusa at all—except for Athena herself, of course. But this was the best alternative, she supposed. She admired one of the new statues, a man with a body covered in muscles and a face full of pride, now frozen and dead. There would have been a time he could have made Medusa his, one way or another, but not anymore.

Medusa was Athena’s.

She went to the entrance of the cave and called in. Medusa answered, asking for a moment to look presentable. She came out in minutes. Her dress was worn and ripped—she could not go into town to get new clothing—and so she could only be so presentable, but her face was clean and carefully smiling, surrounded though it was by serpents.

“Medusa, it is good to see you again!”

“You are the only one who would say that,” Medusa said drily. But she was not as melancholy as she was at times. She opened her arms for Athena’s embrace, and Athena was careful not to squeeze too hard. She could break a demigod’s back that way, never mind a fragile woman like Medusa.

“Come in,” Medusa said. She waved Athena into the cave. It was not a bad set-up, full of the various gifts Athena had brought her over the years. Pots and pans and such. Probably a few too many knives. Athena was always seeing the most beautiful knives and wanting to give them to someone, and usually her favorites were more warlike than Medusa. But Medusa would always smile and accept them, gingerly putting them on the shelf she’d set up on the wall, so she figured it was all right.

And so she’d brought another knife today. “This is a rare one, my sweet,” she said, holding it out so Medusa could get a good look.

“Is it? You know I don’t know much about weaponry.”

“I went to Hephaestus himself. He owed me a favor.” As he often did. “This one could slice through bone, I’m sure. Or stone.” She smiled. “I’m sure you must get tired of all those statues staring at you. Though they can see nothing, their gaze is still troubling. With this you could deface their eyes—or cut off their heads entirely…”

“How thoughtful.” Medusa took the knife. She did not wave it around or even weight it long in her hand, but put it with the other ones. “I’ll consider it. A very generous gift.”

“I will bring you anything if you ask me.” She put a hand on Medusa’s waist.

“There is something I would like, actually. Though I would never trouble a god for my petty desires…” The snakes around Medusa’s head squirmed uneasily.

“What?”

“Well, a new dress?” Medusa shrugged. “You sometimes walk among humans unknown, don’t you? I thought perhaps the next time you are in town…”

How boring. Medusa had always been like this—no sense of the greater things. But Athena forgave her. She was only a Gorgon, after all, and no goddess. “Of course.”

They talked a while longer. Athena asked Medusa to describe her last encounter with a warrior, and Medusa shrugged. Not much to tell, she said. All very mundane.

“A story of a battle,” Athena insisted.

Medusa said, “It was hardly a battle. I heard him outside, and went into the cave. He called for me to come out. I was afraid he’d come in—I thought of how his statue could end up in here, stuck staring at me…”

“Ah, so you do see the use of the knife I brought you. The eyes of the dead are truly fearsome.”

“…I gave up and went outside, and he died on seeing me. I suppose I could have stayed inside a while longer, and maybe he would have went away.”

“I doubt it. You know little of warriors, sweet. When the thought of a battle is in one’s blood, it is stronger than wine. To get one to leave a battle would be harder than tearing them from a pot of gold and jewels.” She put a hand on the back of Medusa’s neck, slipping back the serpents who lifted themselves away from her hand to accommodate. “But don’t worry yourself about it. You know little of battle, but you will always win. That is my gift to you.”

Medusa smiled at her. Her eyes looked to be watering a little, but they didn’t blink.

“And since you have won again for me,” Athena said, “shall I give you a prize?”

She kissed Medusa on stiff lips until Medusa relaxed into it. The snakes settled themselves against her hand, and she put her other hand through one of the rips in Medusa’s dress, a wide rip at the side. She felt the smooth skin of Medusa’s waist—when she could not reach far enough, she ripped the dress open farther. Medusa squirmed, but she hushed her. She’d get a new dress, remember? In any case, there was no shame in nudity—not with a well-formed body like Medusa’s, and especially not when none would see it, none but Athena, and there was no reason to hide anything from Athena…

And Medusa sighed and relaxed again, and Athena guided her to her cot and lay her down, gentle, as the snakes twined themselves around her arm and hissed, singing threats and love songs stronger than Medusa herself would ever voice.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this fic was: "What's the best thing to do when you're a virgin Goddess whose starting to fall in love with a mortal woman who's more beautiful than anything -- even you, and the mortal knows it? Well, clearly you gonna make sure no one else is gonna make a move on her. And what better way than making her a monster whose gaze turns anyone else to stone? :D"  
> I didn't end up writing exactly that bc I was writing the prompt from memory and so ended up writing later in the timeline of their relationship than I think the prompt implies, but... I hope it still works? Oh well.


End file.
